Fire We Make
by Your Candle on the Water
Summary: Non-bending, 1920's. Korra sneaks out into a night club and feels something for the man she sees across the room.


**AN:** I do not own Avatar: The Legend of Korra. Title and inspiration comes from Alicia Keys' song of the same name. It is _hot! _

_R a_nd R lovies.

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**Fire We Make**

Republic City was known for, among other things, its music. There was never a sound similar to the raw, emotional, blues music that permeated through the bars after the children have gone to bed. The young parents, tired and frustrated from the work day, would leave their children to the hands of the sandman and get away from it all. The teenagers, some who are too young to be let in these clubs, would patter silently out of their houses in hopes of a good night.

Korra was one of those teenagers. She has been going to this particular club ever since she and her parents moved to Republic City, just shy of six months. She would lay in bed until she can hear her father snoring, jump out her bedroom window, dodge the Satomobiles, and briskly make her way into the club.

The night felt electric, with the band playing up a riot in the club. The crowded room was covered in a sheer haze of smoke and incense. The couples were putting on their best moves on the dance floor, slowly but surely getting closer as the tempo of the tunes decreased. The women were in their shortest flapper dresses or their waitress uniforms. The men were in their factory clothes or suits. Very few were wearing any make up, due to the humid air and the sweat from dancing ruining the chances of a smudge-free night, but no one seemed to care. Many were smiling and laughing; some were even smacking lips on the floor or in the dark corners of the club, though the blue eyed teen would rather not see them having a _really _good time in public.

Korra watched the dancers from afar, leaning back against the wall and lychee-flavored vodka in hand; the teenaged brunette would also watch from the sidelines, but tonight, she felt that that would change. She could feel a certain something in the air, a certain _heat_. It was urging her to scan past the dancers to the opposite wall. Her heart pounded harder than the drums on the stage, and then she saw him.

He was wearing a white shirt and worn, brown pants. He also donned a pair of black leather gloves and a red scarf, tattered at the edges. His amber eyes, seemed so warm and inviting to her, but at the same time making her wary, like a tiny flame that can easily spread into a forest fire. The caramel orbs were idly watching the couples dance to a slow number, men and women being as close to each other as possible without being obscene.

Those eyes lifted to meet with hers. An electric shock jolted in the young woman's whole being. Korra could feel herself getting warmer just from the eye contact, and now all she wanted to do was touch him. Run her fingers through his thick, dark hair, hold his gloved hands with her tanned ones, rub her arms and hands across his naked back, and brush her lips against his…

Korra shivered at the carnal thoughts that started to infiltrate her mind. She never felt like this before, especially not with someone she had never met before. The young woman looked at the floor and rubbed her arms in embarrassment; she could feel her face grow warm as she mentally chastised herself for such musings. She raised her head back up, turning her eyes in hopes of seeing the man with the amber eyes again-

Only to find an empty space in the wall.

The teenager sighed. She eyed the dancers slowly floating across the dance floor, the couples embracing tightly and sweetly. To Korra, though, the sensual dance moves no longer had their appeal, with the young man she wanted to try it with gone. She pushed herself off the wall, ready to drop her glass off to the bartender and go home.

She was only able to do one of those two tasks. She placed several yuans under her glass and turned away from the bar, only to be blocked by someone else. Her crystal blue eyes sparked in pent-up frustration as she started to explode.

"Hey! Watch where you're goi-"

She noticed the red scarf dangling in front of her. Korra gasped as her eyes trailed up the scarf, to a pair of broad shoulders in a white shirt, to a neck, chin, lips, nose, amber eyes. It was _him_.

"Oh, um, h-hi," Korra stuttered, her eyes finding her beat up loafers interesting, "Sorry for yelling at you."

The young man chuckled, his laugh making Korra feel like a fuse lit with something she had never felt until tonight.

"Don't sweat it," the amber eyed- man replied, "How about you make it up by dancing with me?"

Korra cocked her head, raised an eyebrow, and smirked.

"I don't dance with strangers, no matter how cute they are," she flirted, as she crossed her arms.

"Then let me introduce myself," he answered, flashing a smile, "I'm Mako. May I have this dance, Miss…"

"Korra," she replied, taking out his outstretched hand, "and yes, you may."

After several seconds of awkward fumbling for a comfortable position, the two newly acquainted people slowly swayed to the rhythm of the blues band. Mako's hands were firmly grasping Korra's waist; she swore she could feel tiny sparks where his fingers are, and his scent was inviting.

For what felt like an eternity, the two danced to the thumping of the drums, the strumming of the upright bass, the soft plea of the tsungi horn, and they started getting closer to each other, becoming bolder. Korra's arms eventually were wrapped against Mako's neck, tan fingers playing with the chocolate colored hair on his head. Mako's head rested on her hair, smelling smoke and sea salt and other scents that drove him mad. Their bodies were pressed up against each other, and, like opposite charges on a magnet, they didn't want to let go.

Republic City's night clubs were always full of energy and desire, but everyone in that club knew tonight was the hottest night of them all. At the center of the floor, steam was practically rising up to the ceiling, sweat and sparks mixed with the music, and a man and a woman shared a kiss.


End file.
